Gary Kaupman

Gary moved to Ellijay, from Atlanta, part time in 2001 and full time in 2004 when he began attending Mountain Light, where he served on the Board from late 2008 through last June and has presented Sunday Services from time to time.

Unlike most of our presenters, Gary's formal education, post high school is nothing that anyone would even notice. Except the Atlanta Draft Board, when in 1966, it discovered that he had flunked out of Georgia Tech, as a rising sophomore, after three years of attendance.

After serving in the Army Artillery Corps for two years and earning the rank of Spec 5 (that's a Sergeant who does technical stuff like type and file) as well as a Bronze Star (for working long hours and being very helpful to his superiors) he returned to Atlanta, became the manager of a chain of Pet Shops, fell in love with and married a hot blonde who had been a Playboy Bunny, and set about trying forget the inconvenient truth that he loved men more than women.

When that charade fell apart 10 years later, all sorts of amusing stuff happened including Gary's introduction to his first genuine understanding of spirituality through a group of men who identify themselves as Radical Faeries.

Gary has received exactly two awards in his 67 years on this earth: One for Feature Writing in a Gay Newspaper. One of the Judges, noted Blogger and Pundit Andrew Sullivan called the piece, "the gayest restaurant review I have ever read" adding, dryly, "I'm not sure whether that as good thing. Or not."

The other award was for a column about abortion in Atlanta's Creative Loafing newspaper where he described his experience (while doing holotropic breathing) of being in his mother's womb as her body was trying to rid itself of him.

He likes to think of the experience as a pre-verbal trip to Cold Comfort Farm.

The newspaper was covered up with letters in response, without fail those from men condemning it, and those from women praising it. The editors of Atlanta Magazine sided with the men, and awarded Gary with their "Worst Undercover Journalist of the Year" prize.

Given the source, Gary was honored.

Gary Kaupman V.2

Gary moved to Ellijay, from Atlanta, part time in 2001 and full time in 2004 when he began attending Mountain Light. Here he has served on the Board from late 2008 through this past June and has presented Sunday Services from time to time.

Unlike most of our presenters, Gary's formal education, post high school, is nothing that anyone would even notice. No one, that is, except the Atlanta Draft Board. In 1966, the Draft Board noticed. It noticed that Gary had flunked out of Georgia Tech as a rising sophomore, after three years of attendance.

After serving in the Army Artillery Corps for two years and earning the rank of Spec 5 (that's a Sergeant who does technical stuff like type and file) as well as a Bronze Star (for working long hours and being very helpful to his superiors), Gary returned to Atlanta, became the manager of a chain of Pet Shops, fell in love with and married a hot blonde who had been a Playboy Bunny, and set about trying forget the inconvenient truth that he loved men more than women.

When his marriage fell apart 10 years later, all sorts of amusing things happened, including Gary's introduction to his first genuine understanding of spirituality through a group of men who identify themselves as Radical Faeries.

Gary has received exactly two awards in his 67 years on this earth:

The first was for Feature Writing in a Gay Newspaper. In that case, one of the Judges, noted Blogger and Pundit Andrew Sullivan, called the piece, "the gayest restaurant review I have ever read" adding dryly, "I'm not sure whether that as good thing. Or not."

The other award was for a column about abortion in Atlanta's Creative Loafing newspaper where Gary described his experience (while doing heliotropic breathing) of being in his mother's womb as her body was trying to rid itself of him. He likes to think of the experience as a proverbial trip to Cold Comfort Farm.

The newspaper was covered up with letters in response. Without fail, those from men condemning it, and those from women praising it. The editors of Atlanta Magazine sided with the men, and awarded Gary with their "Worst Undercover Journalist of the Year" prize.

Given the source, Gary was honored.